Friends of the San Juans would like to help you in helping to restore eelgrass by sharing the cost of replacing or relocating mooring buoys.

In 2011, Friends helped finance removal of buoys and floats from eelgrass and herring spawning areas, working with two buoy contractors and six private mooring buoy owners on Orcas and Lopez Islands to remove unwanted buoys and replace them nearby with “screw anchor moorage systems”.

These new systems, according to Friends, will reduce destruction of the eelgrass beds, areas that are crucial to crab, fish and other marine wildlife that live or feed in the eelgrass.

Funds are still available—though limited —for 2012, according to Tina Whitman, Friends science director. For info or inquiries, (360)378-2319.